NYS Assembly candidate appears to be stealing election mailers

Scotia, NY (WRGB) — Update: Republican candidate for New York Assembly Joe Mastroianni is expected to respond to CBS6 in a video in which he appears to be stealing a ballot. The candidate is expected to address the press at 6 p.m

WATCH LIVE HERE:

With less than two weeks until Election Day, we're learning that there's a video showing Republican candidate for New York State Assembly Joe Mastroianni stealing political mail from a voter's mailbox , which is a federal crime.

Ring video from the law office of Frank Salamone, who is also chairman of the Schenectady County Democratic Committee, shows Mastroianni apparently stealing a ballot from incumbent Rep. Angelo Santabarbara. A voter in Scotland accessed the video after discovering she had not received the item that was included in the U.S. Postal Service's reported shipment.

In the Ring camera videos, the mailman is seen delivering the Santabarbara mailer around 1:30 p.m. and then Mastroianni is seen walking onto the porch with a woman just before 6 p.m

As you can see, it looks like Mastroianni takes out the envelope, folds it up and puts it in his pocket, laughing.

Salamone calls on him to stop his election campaign activities and resign from the Rotterdam city council.

In a statement, Salamone said, among other things:

Beyond the criminality of mail theft, Mr. Mastroianni has clearly demonstrated that he does not have the judgment and character necessary to hold public office.

FULL STATEMENT:

In another statement late Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Santabarbara called his opponent's actions in the video “a new low.”

FULL STATEMENT FROM REP. SANTABARBARA:

“Yesterday, a concerned resident of the Village of Scotia shared a disturbing video purporting to show my opponent stealing her mail. After watching the footage, I was truly shocked and disheartened by what I saw.

My opponent has already raised serious concerns with his disturbing comments in the past spreading conspiracies about the 9/11 attacks. However, mail theft marks a new low and crosses an unacceptable threshold. The actions shown in the video reflect extremely poor judgment and fall well below the dignity expected of anyone seeking or holding public office.

I have been informed that the resident has begun the process of filing a report with the Village of Scotia Police Department.

At this time, I will allow law enforcement to conduct their investigation and will refrain from further comment. I sincerely hope that my opponent will cooperate fully with the authorities in the investigation of this serious matter.”

Additionally, the Scotia Village Police Department said it has obtained a copy of the surveillance video and has begun an investigation into the matter.